<ul><li><b>Sensation seeking individuals may enjoy scary movies</b> because it will elevate the heart rate and make the body feel as though it needs to expend energy.</li><li><b>Highly sensitive people can be easily overstimulated by their environment and also tend to be more empathetic.</b> This results in a more intense physiological reaction to violent or scary movies.</li><li><b>Childhood experiences affect how someone feels about being scared. </b>People who had positive experiences when they were young already have an internal concept that frames certain scary activities in an exciting way.</li><li><b>Horror movies are enjoyable for some people when they’re shared with loved ones. </b>It can create a social bonding experience.</li></ul>

Reasons for enjoying or hating scary movies

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<p>Thousands of people will soon rush to theaters or settle in on their couches to indulge in various Halloween-esque horror films, ready to scream and be startled.</p>
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<p>I will not be one of them.</p>
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<p>I loathe scary movies. I'd rather watch paint dry or go to the dentist than willingly sit through a program that's designed to make me terrified to go to sleep at night. Once, my roommates decided to watch "The Shining" during a rainy afternoon and I locked myself in my bedroom. If I needed to emerge for any reason, I had to ask them if the scene I was exposing myself to was relatively tame.</p>
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<p>Turns out my aversion to horror movies isn't just a personal preference &#8213; it's a psychological need. Some people are just wired to react differently to this type of content.</p>
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<p>While there's no one-size-fits-all answer for why some people get a thrill out of horror films and some don't, there are a few possible explanations. Here's a breakdown, according to experts and research on the subject:</p>
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<p>People who love scary movies experience stress differently. </p>
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<p>Individuals who are more sensation seeking may gravitate toward scary movies because of how they interpret the body's reaction to stress, according to Margee Kerr, a sociologist who studies fear and author of <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1610397169/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_dp_2sfhzbK7WP9A9?tag=thehuffingtop-20">Scream: Chilling Adventures in the Science of Fear</a>. </em>A fear-inducing movie will kick a person's heart rate into high gear and make the body feel as though it needs to expend energy.</p>
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<p>"Some might make a positive meaning out of that &#8213; they feel really alive are grounded in their bodies, almost like how you feel after a really intense yoga class or something that focuses all attention into your body," Kerr said. "For other people, they might interpret that almost like a panic attack, where they're feeling a sense of loss of control over what their body is doing."</p>
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<p>People who hate them might be highly sensitive. </p>
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<p>Highly sensitive people, or HSPs, can be easily overstimulated by their environment and also tend to be more empathetic than the average person. This means they may have a <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/highly-sensitive-people-signs-habits_n_4810794">different or more intense physiological reaction to violent or scary movies</a>, HSP researchers say.</p>
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<p>Childhood experiences affect how someone feels about being scared. </p>
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<p>People who had positive experiences when they were young with what researchers call "fun scary" &#8213; an experience that startles, but doesn't contribute to real fear &#8213; already have an internal concept that frames certain scary activities in an exciting way, Kerr said.</p>
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<p>"If their parents exposed them to just the right amount or kind of 'fun' as a kid &#8213; so not taking them to see 'It,' for example, before they have a good a idea of what kind of monsters are real or not exposing them to rollercoasters too early &#8213; can impact whether people will like the whole genre or not," she explained.</p>
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<p>Some people view scary movies as a way to connect with others. </p>
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<p>Horror movies are <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/record/1987-01071-001">enjoyable for some people</a> when they're shared with loved ones.</p>
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<p>"It can be a really wonderful, social bonding experience," Kerr said. "We do know that the bonds we make under stress often are more intense, especially with people we already have a positive association with. So if you're going with your friends and you do something fun and intense and scary, you end up forming more layered, rich memories."</p>
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<p>In other words, whether or not a person likes watching a creepy clown on the big screen all depends on a confluence of factors &#8213; most of which are slightly out of their control.</p>
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<p>So, if you need me, I'll be over here hiding until Halloween is over. It's not my fault I'm such a scaredy cat.</p>
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Thousands of people will soon rush to theaters or settle in on their couches to indulge in various Halloween-esque horror films, ready to scream and be startled. I will not be one of them. I loathe scary movies.

What Loving Horror Movies Says About Your Personality

Reasons for enjoying or hating scary movies

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